Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool. Cool replaced former drummer John Kiffmeyer (Al Sobrante) in 1990, prior to the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk, and has been a member of the band since. Green Day was originally part of the punk scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases for the independent record label Lookout! Records earned it a grassroots fanbase. In 1994, its major label debut Dookie became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk bands The Offspring, Rancid, and NOFX, with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States. Green Day's three follow-up albums, Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning did not achieve the massive success of Dookie, though they were still successful, reaching double platinum and gold status respectively. Their 2004 rock opera American Idiot reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the U.S. The band's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009. Green Day has sold over 65 million records worldwide and 24.639 million in the US alone. They have won four Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", and Best Rock Album for the second time for 21st Century Breakdown. In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The musical has been nominated for several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Scenic Design, and has received generally positive reviews.
1000 Hours (1989)
1000 Hours is Green Day's first release, which is an EP, released on April 1989 through Lookout! Records. 1,000 Hours was recorded in 1988 while the band was still named "Sweet Children", and released in April of 1989 on vinyl only, with several different colors of vinyl available [red, blue, green, purple, yellow, and clear] in limited quantities. Upon its release, it was also available with a pink cover [black vinyl only]. Shortly after it was recorded, the band changed their name to Green Day, despite the objections of Lookout Records' owner Lawrence "Larry" Livermore. In 1991, all of the songs from 1,000 Hours were reissued on 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours. 1,000 Hours remained in print on the Lookout! label until August, 2005 when Green Day removed their catalog from Lookout! Records. Since March 24, 2009, 1,000 Hours (along with Slappy) has been back in print as a bonus to the vinyl reissue of the 39/Smooth album.
Tracklisting:
1-) 1000 Hours.
2-) Dry Ice.
3-) Only of You.
4-) The One I Want.
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39/Smooth (1990)
39/Smooth is Green Day's first studio album, released on April 13, 1990 through Lookout! Records on vinyl (black, green, and clear) and cassette. It would later be combined with the Slappy and 1,000 Hours EPs along with a track from a compilation, and released in 1991 as 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours on CD and cassette. Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy contributed the artwork on the album. The inner sleeve shows handwritten lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong and letters by drummer John Kiffmeyer and Lookout! owner Larry Livermore to I.R.S. Records, rejecting an offer to sign to the label and declaring their loyalty to Lookout! Records (however, the band would later leave Lookout! and move to a major label, Reprise Records). 39/Smooth, as well as its concurrent EPs, remained in print on vinyl until Green Day removed their catalog from Lookout! Records in August 2005 due to unpaid royalties. The album was reissued on vinyl by Reprise Records on March 24, 2009 in a package that also contained 1,000 Hours and Slappy.
Tracklisting:
1-) At the Library.
2-) Don't Leave Me.
3-) I Was There.
4-) Disappearing Boy.
5-) Green Day.
6-) Going to Pasalacqua.
7-) 16.
8-) Road to Acceptance.
9-) Rest.
10-) The Judge's Daughter.
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Slappy (1990)
Slappy is Green Day's second EP, released in the summer of 1990 through Lookout! Records. Upon its release, several different colors of vinyl were available in limited quantities. Billie Joe Armstrong cites the EP as the one on which Green Day begins to find their sound. All four tracks from Slappy were included on the 1991 CD release 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours. Slappy remained in print until August 2005, when Green Day removed their catalog from Lookout! Records. Since March 24, 2009, Slappy (along with 1,000 Hours) has been back in print as a bonus to the vinyl reissue of the 39/Smooth album. However a possible error may have been made as Slappy's artwork is now tinted pink instead of dark red. The EP includes their cover version of Operation Ivy's Knowledge track.
Tracklisting:
1-) Paper Lanterns.
2-) Why Do You Want Him?
3-) 409 in Your Coffeemaker.
4-) Knowledge.
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Sweet Children (1990)
Sweet Children is Green Day's third EP, possibly released in 1990 through Skene! Records. The EP is a collection of some of the band's earliest songs that they were still playing live at the time. It was recorded in 1990, in Minneapolis, Minnesota while the band were on a brief break from their summer tour, and released on seven-inch vinyl. Due to a typo on Green Day's website, many believe that this record was released in 1987, but this is not true. What makes it believable is the rough sound and poor mixing of the recordings. These were the last recordings drummer John Kiffmeyer would appear on. Shortly after the end of the tour, he left the band to attend college.
There are five different pressings of the EP (some limited quantities included two different variations of red vinyl). The first four have out of print since its inclusion on the CD issue of Green Day's second album Kerplunk! in 1992. Because of this, it has since become a valuable and sought-after item among collectors and Green Day fans alike. The first pressing's cover is a picture of Mike Dirnt's leg during a concert.The second pressing's cover is a black and white picture of a somewhat trashed Volkswagen Beetle with the caption "What Do You Think Mike..." This rare second pressing, limited to 600 copies as opposed to the first run's respectable 1,500, also featured a handwritten insert, reading "Not a lyrics sheet, so don't get your hopes up". The third pressing is the same as the one above in every way except there is no insert, and the cover, instead of being black and white, is tinted red. The fourth pressing is obviously a reissue from possibly 1991, for it features a mostly blank cover with a picture of the band, and a rather long summary on the back of the sleeve, which explains how these songs are also on Kerplunk, so this must be a reissue of the EP. On March 24, 2009, the EP was back in print as it was included with the vinyl reissue of Kerplunk!. It is a reissue of the first pressing.In 1990, on the first day of the EP's release, it sold 493 copies. Up to this day, Kerplunk has sold 753, 000 copies in the U.S. This EP includes their cover of The Who's famous hit My Generation.
Tracklisting:
1-) Sweet Children.
2-) Best Thing in Town.
3-) Strangeland.
4-) My Generation.
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Kerplunk (1992)
Kerplunk is Green Day's second studio album, released on January 17, 1992 through Lookout! Records. Kerplunk was their last release on an independent label and was also the first album to feature their current band lineup, with Tré Cool on drums. The album has gone on to be among the best selling independently released albums of all time. Major labels took notice of Kerplunk's phenomenal popularity and many approached the band. Green Day realized that they had outgrown their record distribution capacity with Lookout! and eventually signed with Reprise Records. With Reprise, Green Day would record and release their third album Dookie (1994). The album officially includes only 12 tracks, but the versions released on CD and cassette also include the 4 tracks from the Sweet Children EP. Another notable track on the album is "Welcome to Paradise", which the band would re-record for their next album Dookie. As of August, 2010, Kerplunk had sold 753,000 units in the United States and 1,000,000 units worldwide. In August 2005, Green Day pulled the album, as well as all of their other material released through the label, from Lookout! due to unpaid royalties. It was reissued on CD by Reprise Records, who Green Day has been with since leaving Lookout!, on January 9, 2007. Note that in Europe, the album was released by Epitaph Europe, and has remained in print. It was reissued on vinyl on March 24, 2009 by Reprise Records and includes a reissue of the Sweet Children EP. In December 2007, Blender magazine ranked Kerplunk #47 on their list, "The 100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums Ever".
Tracklisting:
1-) 2000 Light Years Away.
2-) One for the Razorbacks.
3-) Welcome to Paradise.
4-) Christie Road.
5-) Private Ale.
6-) Dominated Love Slave.
7-) One of My Lies.
8-) 80.
9-) Android.
10-) No One Knows.
11-) Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?
12-) Words I Might Have Ate.
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Dookie (1994)
Dookie is Green Day's third studio album, released on February 1, 1994 through Reprise Records. It was the band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo and its major label debut. The album helped to propel Green Day into mainstream popularity, amid claims from the punk rock community that the band had "sold out". Dookie won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1995. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Dookie at 193 on the list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The name of the album is a reference to the band members often suffering from diarrhea, which they referred to as "liquid dookie", as a result of eating spoiled food whilst on tour. Initially the band were to name the album "Liquid Dookie", however this was deemed "too gross", and so they settled on the name "Dookie". The back cover on early prints of the CD featured a plush toy of Ernie from Sesame Street, which was airbrushed out of later prints for fear of litigation. Some rumors suggest that it was removed because it led parents to think that Dookie was a child's lullaby album or that the creators of Sesame Street had sued Green Day. The album charted to #2 in the U.S. (Diamond disc, 10 million copies) and #13 in the U.K. (3x Platinum discs). Dookie is the band's best-selling album, with over 16 million copies sold worldwide. The singles released from this album were: Longview (#36 U.S., #30 U.K.), Welcome to Paradise (#56 U.S., #20 U.K.), Basket Case (#26 U.S., #6 U.K.), When I Come Around (#6 U.S., #27 U.K.), and She (#41 U.S.).
Tracklisting:
1-) Burnout.
2-) Having a Blast.
3-) Chump.
4-) Longview.
5-) Welcome to Paradise.
6-) Pulling Teeth.
7-) Basket Case.
8-) She.
9-) Sassafras Roots.
10-) When I Come Around.
11-) Coming Clean.
12-) Emenius Sleepus.
13-) In the End.
14-) F.O.D./All by Myself.
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Insomniac (1995)
Insomniac is Green Day's fourth studio album, released on October 10, 1995 through Reprise Records. Insomniac was originally going to be named "Jesus Christ Supermarket," but it ended up as Insomniac. Billie Joe Armstrong regrets this decision, but settled with it after it came out. Before the name Insomniac, the band considered naming the album Tight Wad Hill (after track 13 on the album). After visiting collage artist Winston Smith for the album cover, Billie Joe Armstrong asked him how he managed to make such intricate pieces in such short times. Smith answered: "It's easy for me. I am an insomniac." Armstrong himself has said that the album title comes from his own insomnia, after having been woken up frequently during the night due to his baby's screams.The album charted to #2 in the U.S. (2x Platinum discs) and #8 in the U.K. (Platinum disc). Insomniac has sold 8 million copies worldwide. This album spawned the following singles: Geek Stink Breath (#27 U.S., #16 U.K.), Stuck with Me (#24 U.K.), 86, Brain Stew/Jaded (#35 U.S., #28 U.K.), and Walking Contradiction (#70 U.S.).
Tracklisting:
1-) Armatage Shanks.
2-) Brat.
3-) Stuck with Me.
4-) Geek Stink Breath.
5-) No Pride.
6-) Bab's Uvula Who?
7-) 86.
8-) Panic Song.
9-) Stuart and the Ave.
10-) Brain Stew.
11-) Jaded.
12-) Westbound Sign.
13-) Tight Wad Hill.
14-) Walking Contradiction.
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Nimrod (1997)
Nimrod is Green Day's fifth studio album, released on October 14, 1997 through Reprise Records. Nimrod was reissued on vinyl on June 16, 2009. The album was released in Europe as an HDCD. The portraits covered on the album cover are Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman. The album charted to #10 in the U.S. and #11 in the U.K. The album has sold 2,083, 000 copies worldwide. The following singles were spawned from this album: Hitchin' a Ride (#59 U.S., #25 U.K.), Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (#11 U.S., #11 U.K.), Redundant (#27 U.K.), Prosthetic Head, and Nice Guys Finish Last (1999, #80 Australia).
Tracklisting:
1-) Nice Guys Finish Last.
2-) Hitchin' a Ride.
3-) The Grouch.
4-) Redundant.
5-) Scattered.
6-) All the Time.
7-) Worry Rock.
8-) Platypus (I Hate You).
9-) Uptight.
10-) Last Ride In.
11-) Jinx.
12-) Haushinka.
13-) Walking Alone.
14-) Reject.
15-) Take Back.
16-) King for a Day.
17-) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).
18-) Prosthetic Head.
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Warning (2000)
Warning is Green Day's sixth studio album, released on October 3, 2000 through Reprise Records. Building upon its predecessor, Nimrod (1997), the album eschewed the band's trademark punk rock sound and incorporated acoustic and pop rock elements. Warning was also Green Day's first album since Dookie (1994) that was not produced by Rob Cavallo, although he did have a hand in its production and was credited as executive producer. Warning was reissued on vinyl on July 14, 2009. The album charted to #4 in the U.S. (Platinum disc) and #4 in the U.K. (Gold disc). It has sold 3 million copies worldwide. Warning spawned the following singles: Minority (#101 U.S., #18 U.K.), Warning (#114 U.S., #27 U.K.), Waiting (#34 U.K.), Blood, Sex & Booze and Macy's Day Parade.
Tracklisting:
1-) Warning.
2-) Blood, Sex & Booze.
3-) Church on Sunday.
4-) Fashion Victim.
5-) Castaway.
6-) Misery.
7-) Deadbeat Holiday.
8-) Hold On.
9-) Jackass.
10-) Waiting.
11-) Minority.
12-) Macy's Day Parade.
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Shenanigans (2002)
Shenanigans is an official compilation which consists of b-sides, rarities, covers, and a previously unreleased track, "Ha Ha You're Dead", which was recorded in the late 90s but never released. It was released on July 2, 2002. Even though the original cover does not feature a title, several retailers fixed confusion over it by designing a sticker which was plastered on the front. It is unknown who the cover's creator is. Shenanigans was reissued on vinyl for the first time in the U.S. on September 15, 2009. The album charted to #27 in the U.S. and #32 in the U.K. The album has sold 280, 000 copies in the U.S. The only single released was Ha Ha You're Dead.
Tracklisting:
1-) Suffocate.
2-) Desensitized.
3-) You Lied.
4-) Outsider. (Originally performed by The Ramones).
5-) Don't Wanna Fall in Love.
6-) Espionage.
7-) I Wanna Be on T.V. (Originally performed by Fang).
8-) Scumbag.
9-) Tired of Waiting for You. (Originally performed by The Kinks).
10-) Sick of Me.
11-) Rotting.
12-) Do Da Da.
13-) On the Wagon.
14-) Ha Ha You're Dead.
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American Idiot (2004)
American Idiot is Green Day's seventh studio album, released on September 21, 2004 through Reprise Records and was produced by longterm collaborator Rob Cavallo. In mid-2003, the band began recording songs for an album titled Cigarettes and Valentines. However, the master tracks were stolen and the band decided to start over rather than re-record Cigarettes and Valentines. They decided to produce a rock opera, inspired by the work of The Who and numerous musicals.
It follows the life of "Jesus of Suburbia", a sort of anti-hero created by Billie Joe Armstrong. Following early recording at Oakland, California's Studio 880, the band finished the album in Los Angeles. The album won numerous awards including a Grammy for Best Rock Album, and received acclaim by critics. The album's protagonist, Jesus of Suburbia, emerged out of Armstrong asking himself what sort of person the title of "American Idiot" referred to. Armstrong described the character as essentially an anti-hero, a powerless "everyman" desensitized by a "steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin".Jesus of Suburbia hates his town and those close to him, so he leaves for the city. As the album progresses the characters St. Jimmy and Whatsername are introduced. St. Jimmy is a punk rock freedom fighter. Whatsername, inspired by the Bikini Kill song "Rebel Girl", is a "Mother Revolution" figure that Armstrong described as "kind of St. Jimmy's nemesis in a lot of ways". Both characters illustrate the "rage vs. love" theme of the album, in that "you can go with the blind rebellion of self-destruction, where Saint Jimmy is. But there's a more love-driven side to that, which is following your beliefs and ethics. And that's where Jesus of Suburbia really wants to go", according to Armstrong. Near the end of the story, St. Jimmy apparently commits suicide. While the singer did not want to give away the details of the story's resolution, he said the intention is for the listener to ultimately realize that Jesus of Suburbia is really St. Jimmy, and Jimmy is "part of the main character that pretty much dies". In the album's final song, "Whatsername", Jesus of Suburbia loses his connection with Whatsername as well. The album peaked to #1 in the U.S. (6 Platinum discs) and in the U.K. (6 Platinum discs) and in 24 other countries around the world. Since its release, American Idiot has sold over 14 million copies worldwide. This album spawned the following singles: American Idiot (#61 U.S., #3 U.K.), Boulevard of Broken Dreams (#2 U.S., #5 U.K.), Holiday (#19 U.S., #11 U.K.), Wake Me up When September Ends (#6 U.S., #8 U.K.), and Jesus of Suburbia (#17 U.K.).
Tracklisting:
1-) American Idiot.
2-) Jesus of Suburbia:
I-) Jesus of Suburbia.
II-) City of the Damned.
III-) I Don't Care.
IV-) Dearly Beloved.
V-) Tales of Another Broken Home.
3-) Holiday.
4-) Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
5-) Are We the Waiting.
6-) St. Jimmy.
7-) Give Me Novacaine.
8-) She's a Rebel.
9-) Extraordinary Girl.
10-) Letterbomb.
11-) Wake Me up When September Ends.
12-) Homecoming
I-) The Death of St. Jimmy.
II-) East 12th St.
III-) Nobody Likes You.
IV-) Rock and Roll Girlfriend.
V-) We're Coming Home Again.
13-) Whatsername.
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Bullet in a Bible (2005)
Bullet in a Bible is Green Day's live album, released on November 15, 2005 through Reprise Records. It was directed by Samuel Bayer, director of all the videos from American Idiot. Bullet in a Bible documents the two biggest shows that Green Day headlined in their career, playing to over 130,000 people at the Milton Keynes National Bowl in the United Kingdom on June 18 and 19, 2005. Fourteen of the twenty songs performed at these shows are included on the disc. Bullet in a Bible was issued on vinyl for the first time on November 10, 2009, after American Idiot's vinyl release. The name of the album was inspired by a Bible with a bullet hole in it in the Imperial War Museum in London. The album charted to #8 in the U.S. (Gold disc) and #6 in the U.K. (Platinum disc).
Tracklisting:
1-) American Idiot.
2-) Jesus of Suburbia.
I-) Jesus of Suburbia.
II-) City of the Damned.
III-) I Don't Care.
IV-) Dearly Beloved.
V-) Tales of Another Broken Home.
3-) Holiday.
4-) Are We the Waiting.
5-) St. Jimmy.
6-) Longview.
7-) Hitchin' a Ride.
8-) Brain Stew.
9-) Basket Case.
10-) King for a Day/Shout.
11-) Wake Me up When September Ends.
12-) Minority.
13-) Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
14-) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).
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21st Century Breakdown (2009)
21st Century Breakdown is Green Day's eighth and so far last studio album, released on May 15, 2009 through Reprise Records. It is the band's second rock opera, following American Idiot, and their first album to be produced by Butch Vig. Green Day commenced work on the record in January 2006. Forty-five songs were written by singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong by October 2007, but the band members did not enter studio work with Vig until January 2008. The writing and recording process spanned three years and four California recording studios and was finished in April 2009. Armstrong has described the album as a "snapshot of the era in which we live as we question and try to make sense of the selfish manipulation going on around us, whether it be the government, religion, media or frankly any form of authority". It was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards held on January 31, 2010. The album is divided into three acts: "Heroes and Cons", "Charlatans and Saints", and "Horseshoes and Handgrenades" and is set in Detroit, Michigan. Its loose narrative follows a young couple named Christian and Gloria through the challenges present in the U.S. following the presidency of George W. Bush. Bassist Mike Dirnt has compared the relationships between the songs to those in Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run, saying that the themes are not as tightly interwoven as in a concept album, but that they are still connected. Many of the record's themes and lyrics are drawn from Armstrong's personal life and he sings in the first-person narrative style about abandonment and vengeance in "Before the Lobotomy", "Christian's Inferno", and "Peacemaker". The album has sold 3 million copies worldwide. It peaked to #1 in the U.S. (Platinum disc) and in the U.K. (Platinum disc). The singles taken from this album were: Know Your Enemy (#28 U.S., #21 U.K.), 21 Guns (#22 U.S., #36 U.K.), East Jesus Nowhere (#71 Canada), 21st Century Breakdown (#65 Belgium, #71 Germany), and Last of the American Girls (#45 Germany).
Tracklisting:
1-) Song of the Century.
Act I: Heroes and Cons
2-) 21st Century Breakdown.
3-) Know Your Enemy.
4-) ¡Viva la Gloria!
5-) Before the Lobotomy.
6-) Christian's Inferno.
7-) Last Night on Earth.
Act II: Charlatans and Saints
8-) East Jesus Nowhere.
9-) Peacemaker.
10-) Last of the American Girls.
11-) Murder City.
12-) ¿Viva la Gloria? (Little Girl).
13-) Restless Heart Syndrome.
Act III: Horseshoes and Handgrenades
14-) Horseshoes and Handgrenades.
15-) The Static Age.
16-) 21 Guns.
17-) American Eulogy (A. Mass Hysteria/B. Modern World).
18-) See the Light.
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Awesome as Fuck (2011)
Awesome as Fuck is Green Day's live album released on March 22, 2011 through Reprise Records. The album is composed of tracks recorded during Green Day's 2009–2010 21st Century Breakdown World Tour in support of their eighth studio album 21st Century Breakdown, and includes a DVD or Blu-ray of a concert recorded at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The album charted to #14 in the U.K. Cigarrettes and Valentines was released as a single.
Tracklisting:
1-) 21st Century Breakdown (from London, England).
2-) Know Your Enemy (from Manchester, England).
3-) East Jesus Nowhere (from Glasgow, Scotland).
4-) Holiday (from Dublin, Ireland).
5-) ¡Viva la Gloria! (from Dallas, Texas).
6-) Cigarrettes and Valentines (from Phoenix, Arizona).
7-) Burnout (from Irvine, California).
8-) Going to Pasalacqua (from Chula Vista, California).
9-) J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) (from Detroit, Michigan).
10-) Who Wrote Holden Caulfield? (from New York, New York).
11-) Geek Stink Breath (from Saitama, Japan).
12-) When I Come Around (from Berlin, Germany).
13-) She (from Brisbane, Australia).
14-) 21 Guns (from Mountain View, California).
15-) American Idiot (from Montréal, Canada).
16-) Wake Me up When September Ends (Nickelsdorf, Austria).
17-) Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (Nickelsdorf, Austria).
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